3CEA helped generate renewable energy on O’Shea Farms by delivering on a targeted energy saving project – O’Shea Farms are now providing Aldi with €70 million worth of Irish-grown potatoes.

O’Shea Farms is a family run business, they supply fresh vegetable produce to supermarkets across the country resulting in a year round electricity demand for refrigerated cold storage and grading equipment at their site. O’Shea Farms engaged with 3CEA back in 2015 to develop the renewable energy project at their site and installed the largest Solar PV system (250kWp) under the BEC programme run by Kilkenny County Council under their Sustainable Energy Action Plan.

This project generates 11% of the total sites electricity and operates a direct feed of the entire PV production to the refrigerators beneath which help protect the fresh vegetable produce throughout summer months. This renewable PV generation matches precisely the load demand profile of the refrigeration system. Thanks to O’Shea Farms new innovative glasshouse growing and harvesting techniques they also overcame the challenging weather conditions in early 2018.

The 3 Counties Energy Agency have worked closely with O’Shea Farms to manage the energy efficiency project plans delivering reduced lighting and motor costs. The most important output from engaging in this project is the Aldi contract worth €70 million where O’Shea Farms now produce potatoes in glass houses all year round. Aldi has announced that €24 million worth of Irish-grown potatoes will be sold in their stores this year, new season Irish potatoes have arrived in a number of stores across the country already.

3CEA assisted to set up an energy team led by the employees and supported by senior management. Capturing the potential within the business has led Shea’s Farms to become the most sustainable producer of vegetables in Ireland and possibly Europe and our team is very proud of this achievement. Well done O’Shea Farms, congratulations on your big milestone!

The primary driver for most businesses is to reduce their maintenance costs – in 3CEA we talk about ways your business can become more sustainable and how you can market yourself as a leader in the renewable energy field.

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